After giving up a touchdown on Northern's first drive of the game, the Catholic Central defense was lights out. Northern's only other touchdown came in the final minutes of the game when the outcome had been decided. Catholic Central rolled to a 45-17 win.

"The defensive group of coaches did a fantastic job this week," Catholic Central coach Tom Mach said. "The kids knew all exactly what they were going to do."

Seemingly getting stronger as the game wore one, the Catholic Central defense has shown that it has been sharpened by its tough Catholic League schedule rather than being worn down.

For Catholic Central defensive coordinator Dan Anderson, making it through the Catholic League Central can be a nightmare. Just being able to make it into the playoffs can be the best a good Catholic League team can hope for given the challenges of its schedule.

"I'm very proud of these guys," Anderson said. "It's been a battle every week. We've played a very tough schedule. But every week, these guys tend to step up and get a little better. Each week, we're getting better and better. It really looks like we're moving in the right direction."

And that direction has Ford Field right in its path. Considering that Northern is a team that often accumulates hundreds of yards of offense – most of which came in the option run game – holding the Knights to 154 yards on the ground while only giving up two touchdowns is a big victory for the Catholic Central defense.

Even Catholic Central’s stars on offense are making a difference on the other side of the ball. Senior Anthony Darkangelo had a big night at the running back position with 117 yards and three touchdowns but made sure to save some energy for defense.

Possibly covering more ground on the defensive side of the ball in the linebacker spot than at running back, Darkangelo and company made Walled Lake Northern know what it was up against with heavy hitting and swarming coverage.

“It’s fun,” Darkangelo said. “I get to wale on the running backs in practice a lot. The scout team helps me to be able come out here and hit on these guys.”

Knocking off high-powered Hartland in the district opener and now Northern, Catholic Central is as dangerous an opponent as any. But what makes Catholic Central more dangerous than the rest could be the fact that it was 5-4 entering the playoffs. For Darkangelo, it really put things into perspective.

“You just play,” Darkangelo said. “It’s football. Everybody is going to lose. You lose, you get back up and come back next week and do it. We made it into the playoffs and it’s like a new season.

“Everybody is ready to go. Everybody is excited.”

Not being labeled as a favorite at the start of the playoffs – even written off by some – the Shamrocks are taking its second chance to heart. There is no time spent being overconfident with this team.

“We’ve got a lot of work in front of us,” Anderson said. “We’ve got Plymouth next week. We’ve got a lot of work to do because I know that they are one heck of an offense.”

But as far as “one heck of an offense” goes, Catholic Central’s one-heck-of-a-defense is now 2-0 against that.